Be Safe. Be Humble. Live Hip-Hop.

October 13, 2016

What’s Real? Charlamange vs Beanie Sigel

The interview with heavy burn and conversation this week is Beanie Sigel’s appearance on the Breakfast Club. Over the last few weeks, I felt like there was build up to this moment. Beans mentioned how “Tax was better and could be bigger than the Breakfast club” because “this is who his young bulls F with”. Then he went on to elude to the “realness” of Charlamange and how “he made Lil Mama cry” [which is inaccurate] and how “Fredro Starr” checked him and he did nothing [a debatable stance].

With those statements out, Charlamange listened to Tax’s Beans episode where he spoke about Meek and said “Beans sounds like a hater and that he’s envious of Meek and his position right now”. With those statements alone I knew Beans would show up on the Breakfast Club, even though he sat on Taxstone’s Podcast and said he [Beans] would only talk to Tax on his platform [Tax Season Podcast]. When that conversation made it to other podcast and Breakfast Club interviews, it was a foregone conclusion, Sigel was making an appearance.

As a person who is a supporter of Beanie Sigel, the rap legend, the Breakfast club interview was sad for me. I’ll equate it to any pastor who has condemned any person or group of sin, yet is caught in a very extreme sex scandal of his own, that involves what he denounces most and now he has to face his congregation in tears as he admits he too has fallen very short and hard in the eyes of his congregation and God. However, we as a hip-hop community didn’t get that from Beans. We got the reach for any W possible to save face.

Beans went out of his way to attempt to chastise and belittle Charlamange The God and in the eyes of many, he succeeded. Why? Because “Beans used real ni**a street tactics”. I seen quite a few people say, “Char was scared/shook” “he knows not to play with Beans” “You see how he’s not going in like he do other people”. Many made these comments on the fact that Charlamange “let Beans put his finger in his face and call him a b**ch”

My answer to that is real simple. What is Charlamange supposed to do? Get loud, call him a b**ch back and provoke a fight to prove he “real”? We seen this before. Artist comes to the station, artist gets upset and gets viral moment, Charlamange stands his ground calmly, artist does nothing to him and leaves. The narrative hasn’t changed, just the perspective based on who’s doing it. When Fredro did it, he was clowned. When Beans do it, “he shook Charlamange.” When it was Birdman, there was a split and a lot of memes.

What about the exchange that went like thisChar: Life’s to short to be wasting your time with suckas or people you feel are suckas
Beans: So why I’m here then? I think you a sucka. So, I should be out right *Beans Stands up*
Char:…Yeah, I guess. Yeah. I wouldn’t. That’s me personally. I wouldn’t sit here and have a conversation with a sucka.
Beans: *Beans sits down* Then brings up Lil Mama and Fredro Star. Then wants to talk new music with DJ Envy

Now, let’s get to what I came for. Are we really in support of another man, admitting that he has no respect or love for another man, but was “playing nice” to get close to him in an effort to “give him some game”?

Are we in support of an artist who admits to making a reference track to diss an artist that he has a cordial rapport with?

Are we ok with Beans letting a sucker punch backstage slide because “it’s family and that’s close” but wanting a radio personality to know “It’s Dangerous” over his words and opinion about him?

When did standing on every word you say and saying every word to a person that you said when they weren’t present, stop being a “real” thing? Is it solely because Charlamange did it?

We watched a man, currently over 40 years old, who’s music we love and respect, harp on how someone was “unqualified to speak on certain topics” on a radio show he either requested or confirmed he’d be on. We also watched that same man speak with a level of pride about his prior convictions. Convictions that you can argue he’s yet to recovered from musically, since it’s been at least 10 years since we’ve gotten a great Beans project.

Maybe I’m not qualified to ask any of the above, but answer this. When has it ever been cool to associate yourself with people you don’t like under any circumstances? When did it become cool to play the fence and change your words?

Now, through information I received. I understand this whole Beans and Meek thing is “deeper than rap” and really turning into some “Philly Street Ish” and I’ll leave that aspect alone, but my last question is, why are the lines of this getting blurred? We also learned “Beans” and “Mack” are two different people. Unfortunately, it appears that Beanie Sigel may be at war with what he is and what he used to be more than he is with any other person in or out of rap music.

Before you get beside yourself. Ask yourself this question. If Beans actions were the actions of another rapper you disliked or knew nothing about, would you respect it?